As technology and industry in the modern world continues to grow and expand, so do the power requirements. Many different sources of power generation exist today involving: fossil fuel burning, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave and current power generation, etc. Hydroelectric, wave and current power generation use the movement of water to generate power. The majority of the planet is covered in water, most of which is constantly moving. This moving water power is harnessed and converted to electrical energy through apparatuses which take advantage of the electromagnetic phenomenon known as Faraday's law, which states that an electromotive force is produced by moving an electrical conductor through a magnetic field. Essentially, moving water is free energy waiting to be captured and utilized. Hydroelectric generation accounts for over 20 percent of the world's electricity generation, mostly from dams such as the Hoover Dam, which utilize the gravitational high pressure and force of falling water to generate electricity. Hydroelectricity is a valuable source of energy since it is renewable; it has a low cost when produced from an existing dam and an existing reservoir and power generation facility. It produces no pollution which is the case with burning hydrocarbons. However, power from new hydroelectric construction projects is not as cost effective as from existing facilities and much more time consuming especially regarding the permitting process to flood new areas for reservoirs. A study funded by the European Commission found that hydroelectricity produces the least amount of greenhouse gases and externalities.
Another method of hydroelectric generation is to utilize the movement of non-reservoir river current, tidal estuary current, and marine current. Marine currents are driven by the tides, wind, solar heating, and occasionally variations in water density and salinity. Marine currents in tidal estuaries are usually bi-directional, change direction 180 degrees with the tide cycles, and are an excellent potential source of hydroelectric power generation. Marine currents in the open ocean are also influenced by the tide cycles and are unusually multi-directional. In some areas, marine currents are uni-directional and are sometimes high velocity. These areas are often found between land masses. Some of these areas of high velocity currents are near large population centers making the transmission of the power to the population centers very efficient. According to a 2006 white paper by the U.S. Department of the Interior, a 12-mph water flow contains about the same energy as a 110-mph air flow. This makes ocean currents a promising source of hydroelectric power which is largely untapped and virtually unlimited in potential.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a pontoon barge that harnesses marine currents which can be installed globally in varying water depths from shallow to deep using a wide variety of mooring methods well known to those familiar with the art. These moorings can provide the barge with a relatively fixed heading or a weathervane heading. The present invention may even find a vertical column “mooring dolphin” type system very cost effective. The vertical column barge moorings could also be used to support much needed new bridges across tidal estuaries and rivers allowing cost sharing and reducing the costs of both the bridge and the power generation system. Using new or existing bridges for export power cable support, rapid, safe and low-cost maintenance, etc. further lowering the capital expenditure and operational costs of the power generation systems.